New Buckenham Common 13/12/09

An early morning walk round The Common proved productive with large numbers of Thrushes on the move, mainly Fieldfares but there were some Redwings and the odd Song Thrush amongst the mass groups of their larger cousins.

The sorrowful call of a Bullfinch alerted me to its presence, and after a nice flight view a lovely male landed and gave us a brief look. A first for my girlfriend!

The rain soon came down so we retreated back home, but I hope to spend longer here over the winter period. Habitat seems ideal for hunting birds of prey and roving flocks of Redpoll and Siskin.

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Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day. I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once th...

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Notes from the valley

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